


stuck on a tree

by stupidqpid



Series: stuck [3]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Gen, Hybrids, sort of dystopia au where hybrids have little to no rights and live on the streets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:53:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23576470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidqpid/pseuds/stupidqpid
Summary: Catboy!Minho gets stuck on a tree chasing squirrelboy!Jisung, who stole from him. Human!Chan comes to the rescue.
Relationships: Bang Chan & Lee Minho | Lee Know, Han Jisung | Han & Lee Minho | Lee Know
Series: stuck [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697086
Kudos: 32





	stuck on a tree

_*rustle rustle*_

Minho is rummaging through the trash cans, looking for something to eat, to wear, or something useful to bring back to his hideout. His trusty bundle is by his feet, filled barely halfway with the day’s meager loot.

Swishing his tabby tail to keep his balance, Minho dives halfway in a bigger dumpster, eyes focused on a promising discarded gym bag. Unbeknownst to him, a mischievous squirrel hybrid takes advantage of the bundle left unguarded to snatch it and run away; he could’ve made it out unnoticed if the urge to laugh at the catboy’s expenses didn’t take over.

Alerted by the giggling and the noise of hurried steps getting further away, Minho jumps out of the dumpster with a thrust of his back, and immediately spots a short boy and his impressive curled tail running with his bundle.

“Hey! Give it back!”

Pretending not to hear his victim, the squirrel boy darts away, still cackling, so Minho has no choice but to follow him. They soon reach a playground, where the thief agilely climbs one of the tall trees placed on its perimeter.

Determined to get back what’s rightfully his, the catboy shoots his claws out and climbs up the flaky bark to the very last branch, from where the squirrel is looking at him with increasingly bigger and alarmed eyes. Before Minho could reach out to him, however, the smaller hybrid leaps and freefalls to the ground, spinning into a comfortable landing.

The squirrel boy shoots a look up at the catboy and grins, showing his large front teeth. As a departing gesture, he sticks his tongue out and pulls down his right lower eyelid with a middle finger before fleeing with the stolen goods.

Minho can only stare at the retreating figure, disheartened. There was a flaw in his instinctive reaction to follow the squirrel up a tree: he’s afraid of heights.

The catboy is stuck.

\---

Jisung turns the corner of an alley and hides behind some boxes. Once he’s sure the cat isn’t following him, he stands up and takes a relieved breath before digging through the -admittedly rather light- bundle he just stole.

As soon as he unties the yellow cloth, a mostly full water bottle rolls out, but the squirrel boy is quick to stop it. There isn’t much else inside: a half eaten sandwich, an empty cup that still smells of fish cakes, a broken umbrella, a sponge sock, and a phone charm shaped like a fish.

While it has been a waste of time and energy, now Jisung mostly feels bad for stealing from the catboy. Quickly glancing at the sky, that is slowly but surely turning darker with the approaching of the evening, he decides to go back to the playground and hopes to find the other hybrid still around there.

\---

Chan lost track of time in front of his computer. It’s his gurgling stomach that eventually urges him to get off the damn chair, so to the kitchen he goes.

He vaguely noticed it as he padded through the apartment to the fridge, but now that he’s making his way back to his room the faint cry coming from outside has gotten louder. Curious, Chan sticks his head out of the living room window, that opens on the street below and a playground right across, and looks around, until a handful of people with their phones out and pointed in the same direction catch his attention.

Partially hidden by the foliage, there is someone sitting on top of a tree, crying for help using both words and odd noises that the young man recognizes as those of a distressed cat.

Chan is both perplexed and troubled by the lack of assistance from the onlookers, who actually look amused while they film the poor guy’s mishap. Stopping quickly by the utility room, he fetches his extendable ladder hoping it’s tall enough and rushes outside.

\---

“ _Hey!_ ”

The third _hey_ bellowed from below finally snaps Minho out of his terrified trance. Shaking like a leaf he dares glancing at the ground, where a human with a ladder is looking up at him.

“I’m coming to get you, okay?”

Minho doesn’t answer, but the guy rushes to adjust the ladder regardless and props it against the tree, coming a branch shy of reaching the hybrid. Shortly after, a bleached blonde head peeks through the leaves and twigs, shooting a reassuring smile at the trapped catboy.

“Can you grab my hand?”

After a couple of minutes of mental struggling, Minho pushes all the catastrophic scenarios if he were to look down to the back of his mind. Eyes closed and face turned upward no matter what, he reaches a hand out, biting back a startled yowl when the guy grabs it and gently but firmly guides him down the tree.

Minho’s knees buckle when his feet finally touch the ground, but the human is right there to support him.

“The show is over, folks! Bye!”

The catboy blinks, surprised by the underlying animosity in his savior’s tone. Looking around, the little crowd that his cries attracted disperses, grumbling but satisfied for what they managed to record and that will undoubtedly end up on social media. They’re probably worse than those who ran away when they realized the person stuck on top of a tree was actually a hybrid.

“Better now?”

Minho startles, detaching awkwardly from the arm still holding him up. His smile is genuine when he thanks the stranger, though.

“My name is Chan and I’m pretty familiar with the stray hybrids of the neighborhood, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around,” the blonde--Chan--says, tilting his head curiously to the side.

The catboy nods affirmatively. “Yeah, I moved here at the beginning of the week.”

“How did you even end up on that tree?” Chan asks before hurriedly adding, “If you don’t mind me asking…”

Minho huffs and starts ranting. “Some asshole with a big poofy tail stole my shit. Thankfully I keep the little money I have on me at all times. One would think hybrids look out for each other…”

The human widens his eyes until he can’t hold back a chuckle anymore. He has a pretty good idea of who said thief could be.

“I think I know who you’re talking about...I can call some people and get him to come back with your belongings, if you have the time--”

“Yo!”

Chan and Minho turn in the direction of the voice. The catboy’s tail immediately puffs up in irritation, along with the ears flattening on top of his head. “ _You_ …”

“Hey hey hey! Truce! I brought your stuff back!” The squirrel boy is quick to raise his hands in surrender, taking a step back for good measure. The yellow bundle swings in his hold.

“Jisung,” the human calls out tiredly, “when will you stop?”

“When I have enough stashed away for the winter,” said boy replies with a shrug.

“It’s spring already.”

Jisung waves him off and turns his attention to the catboy.

“Here, I didn’t take anything. Sorry for stealing from you.”

Minho snatches his bundle with a scowl, but a quick feeling of the bulging objects reassures him that indeed nothing is missing. A hand lands heavily on his shoulder, startling him considerably.

“Chan, you gotta take him under your wing! Homeboy here got but a sock to his name!” Jisung wails, laying it on thick for the human. Minho sputters, but it’s not like the squirrel boy is lying...

As if Chan didn't already think of that. Wordlessly, he takes a handmade business card with his address and phone number and hands it to the catboy.

“I can’t offer much, but if you’re ever hungry or need a place to sleep, my door is always open.”

Minho takes the card almost reverently, and reads it front and back trying to commit it to memory. He grins.

“You’ll see me around often, then. Thank you.”

Chan smiles back. “I look forward to it.”

“Ew.”

Jisung squeaks when he gets pinched from both sides.


End file.
